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Did u fink ah woodnt no aboot hur. How cood u butray me like this. Ah luv u so much but u made a big mustake by cheetin on me with hur. She duserved whit she got. And if u dont stop seein hur ah will make sure she gets wurse.

urs 4rever

“We have to go to the police again.” Forde’s voice was gruff. “I … I’m sorry, Cameron. I can’t believe I’m the reason you got hurt.”

I’d never cursed my lack of mobility more in the last week. “Forde, no. No way. We don’t know for certain this lunatic had anything to do with my attack. If this person doesn’t live on the island, they could have heard about it from Leth Sholas’s online newsletter. Shona McIver printed an article about it.” Shona was one of the editors of the newsletter, which played into her wheelhouse since she was worse than me for needing to know everything about everybody. “They could be capitalizing on it to frighten you into doing what they want. But we do need to take it to the police because maybe now they’ll run freaking fingerprint tests on it.”

The muscles in Forde’s jaw twitched as he clenched and I braced myself for him to shower me with more unnecessary apologies and really set me off, but he merely nodded and held out a hand to help me up.

“You know you don’t have to carry me upstairs every night,” I said many hours later as we stood at the bottom of Forde’s staircase. Honestly, I liked being carried upstairs every night, but I wasn’t exactly a small woman, and it was a very narrow staircase. Forde made it look easy. He was also exhausted physically and drained emotionally after today.

My roommate gave me a droll look before he swept me up into his arms. I tried not to smile like a giddy moron as I wrapped my arms around his neck and held on as he carried me up. He’d showered after dinner, so he smelled like his citrusy shampoo. The urge to nuzzle his throat was great, but I still wasn’t fully certain exactly what I wanted, so I had to curb my cavewoman instincts to claim this man.

The police had been more helpful this time around now that there was a possibility the letters were connected to my attack. DI Paul Young authorized a fingerprint test, but it meant sending the letters to the mainland and they weren’t at the top of the priority list. It might take a few weeks.

I tried not to be too annoyed by that, considering the letters might be linked to someone coming into my bedroom with a hunting knife. Since I think I was the prey in that scenario, I was beyond pissed off the letters didn’t make it into the ASAP category. The idea that my would-be attacker might be a woman obsessed with Forde had me raking through my memories of that night. It had been difficult for me to tell by the person’s physicality what their gender was. Could their slight build mean it was a Forde-obsessed female who had broken into my home?

“You doing okay?” I asked quietly as we reached the upper landing.

But who was to say the letter writer was a female?

Forde shifted my weight so he could brace his back against the guest room door to push it open. “I might be the reason you can’t walk right now, so what do you think?”

His grumpy tone would ordinarily make me snap a retort, but since it came from a place of concern and self-recrimination, I found myself unable to fight with him. I was too worried about his state of mind.

Maybe that was the reason when he eased me onto the bed, I didn’t unwind my arms from his neck.

Forde attempted to pull away, but I held on.

He froze, bent over me, his dark gaze searching.

“You are not to blame for what happened to me.” The words came out husky, the riot of feelings coursing through me affecting my throat. “Promise me you believe that.”

Forde gripped my forearms. “I can’t promise you that.”

“Then promise me you believe that I don’t believe you’re to blame.”

Those beautiful dark eyes softened. “I promise you I believe that you don’t believe I’m to blame.”

“Forde …” I tugged him closer and dared to utter the second-most vulnerable sentence I could ever utter to this man. “You make me feel safe.”

His lips parted in surprise. “Cameron …”

My heart raced so fast I could barely hear over it as I pulled him closer, forcing him to press a hand against the headboard for balance. “Forde … Forde …” Rationally, I knew we shouldn’t get physical until I’d sorted out my head, but my body was in total disagreement. There was a deep throbbing between my legs and my breasts felt tight, desperate for his touch. “Forde …”

My name was a harsh whisper on his tongue as his head bent to close the distance between our lips. We were millimeters from touching, our breathing rapid with excitement⁠—

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP!

What the heck? My head snapped back with a jolt as Forde’s fell forward on a groan. The loud beeping came from somewhere on his body.

Understanding formed through my fog of lust, and I released my hold on him to slump against the headboard. “LSLS or paramedics?” I referred to the pager he had for his volunteer emergency services.

Forde straightened, his countenance fierce with frustration as he checked the pager. “LSLS. I can ask someone else to go.”

It took me a second to realize he didn’t mean so we could continue what we were about to do but more to the fact that I’d be left alone. The thought made my heart sink, but I jutted my chin in stubborn defiance. “I’ll be fine. Go rescue people.”

Forde reluctantly nodded. “Do you need anything before I leave?”